Perdido 03

Thursday, January 16, 2014

There Needs To Be A Moreland Commission To Investigate Andrew Cuomo

Sheriff Andy used the Moreland Commission as a bludgeon against the Legislature, saying in effect it is a cesspool of corruption where private interests hand over campaign donations (or bribes) and get favors and/or policies in return.

ALBANY – He may be promoting a taxpayer-funded campaign system, but
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is doing quite nicely playing by the current rules.

The governor reported Wednesday that his 2014 re-election campaign raised $7 million in the past six months.

That
brings his 2014 campaign bank account up to $33.3 million, an increase
from $27.8 million in July. He spent just $1.5 million in the past six
months.

The governor brought in money from a who’s who of wealthy
bankers, real estate developers, lawyers and private-sector unions, many
of which have business dealings before the state. Movie studios that
benefit from tax breaks expanded by the governor donated to him, as did
entities looking to get one of the casinos the state will award this
year, such as Rochester developer David Flaum, and the owner of an
Albany-area restaurant company that runs a new cafeteria in a state
concourse near the Capitol.

Buffalo-area donors included former
Erie County Executive Joel Giambra, a registered Albany lobbyist who
gave Cuomo $1,000, an amount also given by Roswell Park Cancer Institute
President Donald Trump, whose hospital has had talks with the Cuomo
administration over various future ventures. Uniland Properties, a
Western New York real estate company, gave him $3,000.

The
donations also included $117,000 in in-kind contributions; how much of
that went to pay for private jets that the governor flies when he goes
to some fundraisers, such as ones held in Buffalo in mid-November and
one in Rochester in late November, was not detailed in his campaign
report. He also held fundraisers in the Hamptons where Jon Bon Jovi
played, and in Manhattan, where his friend Billy Joel performed.

A who's who of campaign donors giving money to Cuomo and getting favors, policies or tax breaks in return.

The Legislature in Albany may be a cesspool of corruption and malfeasance, but so is the governor's office.